Last week, Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance hosted a breakfast reception at the Hampshire House in Boston with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Governor Walker, who was in Boston for the Republican Governors Association Conference, spoke to the Mass Fiscal team and supporters about his hopes for the future of America and the work he is doing in Wisconsin to help Americans prosper.

The Governor impressed upon the group the importance of values-based leadership and the urgency to keep working towards our goals. Over the past eight years, the number of Conservative Governors has risen from 19 to 31, a product of effective grassroots campaigns across the country. As a result, he had a positive outlook on the future as more and more citizens are beginning to pay attention to state political matters. 

Members of Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance’s Advisory Committee had lunch with Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioner Lee Goodman to discuss issues concerning free speech and association in public policy and politics. 

Commissioner Goodman, an Obama appointee and an election law attorney, recounted the history of speech in politics, the moments in US history when the right was being infringed upon and the steps that were taken to ensure that the right remained protected. He spoke of the lengths to which some have gone to hinder others’ right to political speech, particularly in recent campaign finance laws that require the disclosure of members for some non-profits, even if the organization’s intentions are not to influence the election of a candidate. 

Today, more than ever, MassFiscal and like-minded groups are being targeted because of our efforts to educate voters on the voting records of their lawmakers. As the election cycle continues, we will remain steadfast in our resolve to educate the public on fiscal responsibility. 

Commissioner Goodman was a guest on Greater Boston with Jim Braude on WGBH and Howie Carr on the Howie Carr Show. 

MassFiscal is growing fast, with many exciting changes on the horizon. Today, we want to tell you about our newest program, the Massachusetts Fiscal Fellowship.

Too often talented students interested in policy and politics leave Massachusetts for Washington, D.C., in search of interesting learning opportunities. Keeping young, fiscally-minded young people involved and interested is crucial to our mission. That's why we've created an educational and experience-based fellowship.

Networking with current leaders in government, shadowing successful entrepreneurs, and studying the inner workings of Massachusetts politics are a few of the ways we engage and nurture the Fellows.

In June, we hired our first Fiscal Fellow. Today, 21 young professionals ranging in age from 16-30 years old are working with MassFiscal across the state, and we plan to double that number in the next month. We think of these folks as a small but forceful army for better policy and more fiscally responsible government in the future.

Your dedication to MassFiscal and your financial support has allowed us to identify, train, and fund the fellowship program. You’ll hear more from us in the coming weeks about all of our fellows and what they’ve been up too. We can’t wait to share the details with you. 

Below are a few snapshots of our fellows touring MassFiscal Chairman Rick Green’s distribution center at 1A Auto last week. For information, including how to become a Fiscal Fellow, please click here.